Department of Podiatry

History & Psychosexual Aspects of Footwear

History of Footwear

earliest form: animal skin wrapped around foot with tendon

TAB-TEB: Egyptian thong-like shoe made of papyrus / wood

RIVILIN: first moccasin worn by Scandinavians and Britons

SOLEA and CALCEUS worn by Romans

KLOMP, POULAINE and CRACKOWE worn in 14th century England

CHOPINE and PLATFORMS IN 15th century

buckles were invented in 16th century, laces developed in 1790

1792: standard shoe sizes developed

19th century: great advances in manufacture

Purpose of shoes

1. Protection from injury, temperature

2. Occupational / sporting requirements

3. Therapeutic modality

4. Part of uniform / ceremonial dress

5. Fashion / psychosexual implications

Seven major shoe 'types'

The Oxford first lace-up shoes, originated in Oxford, England in 1640 became popular with university students, and from there the name and style spread the most common and popular male shoe

The Boot originally a two-piece unit consisting of a shoe and legging derived from the French word butt meaning bucket, as early boots were widely flared at the top English adopted the style in 1066 when the Normans crossed the English Channel, and named it 'the boot'

The Pump Elizabethan era ornate versions of the original pump were then adopted by the gentry

The Clog name derives from old English word meaning 'lump of wood' worn by peasants, who simply carved a hole into a block of wood for their foot leather uppers were added later

The Mule from the ancient Sumerian word mulu the original indoor 'slipper' centuries later, fitted with a heel to become a fashion shoe

The Sandal dates back more than 9,000 years derived from the Latin sanis, meaning 'board' the most universal of all shoe styles the thong is a derivative of the sandal

The moccasin oldest known shoe style, dating back 14,000 years adopted by American Indians, who called it moccasin meaning 'foot covering

Psychosexual aspects of shoes

concept that shoes are not simply functional, but are worn to convey psychosexual messages

classic text: The sex life of the foot and shoe by William Rossi, an American podiatrist

Evidence:

Freudian psychology: foot is a phallic (male genital) symbol, the shoe is a yoni (female genital) symbol

gender-specific footwear has no functional justification

ancient sexual customs involving shoes

chinese footbinding and high heels

Chinese Footbinding

'pedic sadomasochism'

custom which began in the 11th century and lasted for 1000 years before it was outlawed

involved binding the foot to cause gross musculoskeletal deformity for the purpose of aesthetics and sexual intercourse

the bound foot was regarded as the most appealing female feature above all other parts of the anatomy

a non-bound female was regarded as ugly and sexually unappealing

a bound female would be more self-conscious about exposing her feet than her breasts in public

at least 50% of females had bound feet

High Heels

no functional role; originally worn to increase height and stature

acts to eroticize the legs by plantarflexing ankle joint, activating gluteal muscles, makes breasts more prominent via spinal lordosis

causes a number of pathologies, including digital deformities, corns and calluses, ankle equinus, lower back pain...

in some occupations, the wearing of high heels is compulsory

however, many women voluntarily subject themselves to pain and deformity in preference to wearing comfortable shoes

reinforced in all forms of media (ever seen a Playboy centrefold in flat lace-up shoes ?)

Problems with modern footwear

incidence of foot pathology in non-shoewearing people is significantly lower (4% compared to 50-70%)

foot strength and flexibility are much greater in non-shoewearing people

hard surfaces clearly have an important role in pathology, but many foot conditions can be directly attributed to shoes

Problems with modern footwear

Last Shape

Problems with modern footwear

Incorrect flexibility

Conditions caused by modern footwear

1. CONTACT DERMATITIS

50-90% of the population is at some time affected by skin lesions of the foot; half of these are shoe-related

2. HYPERKERATOTIC LESIONS

corns / callus caused by ill-fitting footwear

Conditions caused by modern footwear

3. DIGITAL DEFORMITIES

HAV, hammertoes, clawtoes

multi-factorial conditions which may in part be caused / exacerbated by footwear

4. HYPERHIDROSIS / BROMIDROSIS

caused by lack of sweat evaporation

encourages growth of skin bacteria

References

Rossi, W (1974) The sex life of the foot and shoe.

Content Approved by: Head of Podiatry
Page maintained by: Podiatry Webmaster
Last Updated: August 20th, 2002